Don't miss these Christmas TV classic literary treats & tie-ins

There's a fantastic Christmas & New Year UK TV schedule in store for lovers of classic literature

Before we all go our separate ways until January, we thought it was worth highlighting what a fantastic Christmas & New Year TV schedule is in store for lovers of classic literature.

We're expecting a spike in demand across a number of titles as a result, so here’s what the festive might of the British Broadcasting Corporation has lined up...

First up on Boxing Day is the first episode in the long-awaited Dickensian series from acclaimed writer Tony Jordan. In a nutshell, the series throws Charles Dickens' most famous characters together for the first time in interweaving plot lines that will see Scrooge meet Fagin and Mrs Gamp have romantic relations with Silas Wegg.

It's like Avengers Assemble for the Dickensian rather than Marvel universe. Dickensians Assemble, if you will. We can't wait.

Then it's swiftly on to New Year's Day and the BBC's one-off Sherlock special that sees our heroes Holmes and Watson (Cumberbatch and Freeman reprising their roles) getting into more adventures, this time in the Victorian era.

The episode is called The Abominable Bride, which is a reference to 'Ricoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife' - a case mentioned in one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, but which never appeared in print.

It's written by Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mike Gatiss, so by default is bound to be brilliant.

And finally, hopping forward to January 3rd, is Andrew Davies' six-part BBC adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace. There's every reason to expect great things, given that Davies - who has been critical of both the 'mis-cast' 1956 movie and the 'stodgy' 1972 BBC version - has already successfully adapted Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice and Vanity Fair for the screen.

So, lots of tremendous festive television to look forward to over the next couple of weeks, which will rekindle reader interest in the original texts as a result.